Wednesday, January 18, 2017

If you survey the comic book offerings of The Big Two publishers for a specific era, there are some niche comics that are sure to get lost in the mix, even if they figure into the main universe of the publisher. DC's 1985 series Hex fits into this group, I think. To be honest, it wasn't until the last few years that I was even aware of its existence. I can't even recall seeing ads for it as a kid. (I suppose its 18-issue run finished up around the time I really started getting into comics, so that's probably a big reason why, but it also...as you can see on the cover of #1 below...was published outside the confines of the Comics Code, which may mean that it was never found at the gas stations, drugstores, and mall bookshops where I got most of my comics.)

I managed to pick up a nearly-complete run of Hex for a good price a while back, and I've recently (finally) taken some time to read a couple of issues. It's a pretty fun story, and I honestly think you'll have a good idea of how much you'll enjoy it based upon how much you like the premise.

IF you think the idea of western hero Jonah Hex transported to a post-apocalyptic future (by a madman obsessed with the warriors of the past) and doing his thing as a Mad Max-style antihero sounds like fun, you should check this series out (if you can find it at a decent price).

IF you think that idea sounds stupid, you should probably stay away. (Also, what's wrong with you?)

Seriously, the series is described very appropriately by that tagline at the top of the first issue's cover:

THEIR NUCLEAR-RAVAGED WORLD NEEDED A HERO...

WHAT IT GOT WAS...

HEX

(I'm also just now realizing that Jonah Hex stories in general can probably be described pretty appropriately by a slightly different line...)

THE WILD WEST NEEDED A HERO...

WHAT IT GOT WAS...

HEX

(Oh! Along those lines, I think I've just figured out what my next high-concept RPG campaign is going to be based around...)

Hrm. Okay. Anyway, yes, in the binary post-apocalyptic worldview, Hex certainly occupies the Mad Max end of the spectrum. There are some scenes that could have been straight out of The Road Warrior:

(With everything comic-book-futurized a bit, of course. Hey, this is a story about a time-traveling cowboy; don't expect Miller-esque gritty realism here...)

Honestly, the thing that might bug me (no pun intended, seriously) the most about the series is that we have to constantly contend with Jonah's accent and diction. It just throws off the rhythm of the dialogue in my head sometimes. There are places where it's fun, like this scene where Hex first encounters the wasteland gang known as the Road Reapers:

Other times, it's just a bit more jarring. I might be alone in feeling that way, though. And hey, it's kind of a Jonah Hex trademark, so what're ya gunna do?

Unless there's something I'm blanking on at the moment, I'd say that Hex competes with the Atomic Knights for the status of DC's secondary take on a post-apocalyptic Earth (behind Kamandi, of course!). Jonah Hex as Mad Max really does work as a high concept, especially when one considers the similarities between the Western and post-apocalyptic genres. It's been a fun comic so far and is an interesting slice of pop culture history, so I'm glad I'm finally giving it a spin.

Monday, January 16, 2017

Basil Wolverton has one of the more distinctive styles among Golden Age (and really any age) comic book artists. He may be best known for his Mad magazine work, but I found about him just a few years back with the reprinting of his intergalactic epic Spacehawkby Fantagraphics. As with many of the greats, people seem to love or hate his style. I tend to love it.

Thursday, January 12, 2017

You know the situation.* Everything's going smoothly in your supers RPG campaign when your team of heroes has to handle a situation at a local professional sporting event.
"Who's the visiting team?" asks one of your players.

Whaaa---? you think. The home team is easy.You're in Knight City, or Forest City, or Whatever City, after all...so you have that figured out. But who are they hosting? The pressure's on...they need a name...c'mon...3...2...1...

Monday, January 9, 2017

There's a good chance I think about Underground Elemental Beastfighting a lot more than I should. I even took the time recently to make a list of elements I want to use and map out how they should typically interact...

I think I'm getting closer to turning this theme into...a thing of some sort. Exactly what hasn't materialized yet.

In any case, though, the next step to thinghood is probably making some Elemental Beasts that aren't just Pokémon rehashes. So, my general plan will be:1. Find a public domain image that looks like an Elemental Beast.2. Give it a name, hopefully containing some ridiculous play on words.3. Stat it up in a way that's simple enough to fit on a card but suitable for use in an RPG.4. Repeat.So here's the first... Tuberrible...!Type: Wood BeastHD 3d4 (7 HP)Defense 11Attack: Bite +3 (1d6 Wood damage and defender must save vs. poison. If failed, the poisoned character has disadvantage on all d20 rolls until healed.)Tuberribles will live happily in greenhouses until they feel they are threatened. They can quickly shift into a mobile, carnivorous form and turn on their caretakers.

(As always, I get these icons from the awesome site Game-icons.net, which has tons of amazing bits of art to use in games, completely free of charge! These "cards" are proportioned such that they can be printed out at 2.75"x3.75", with 1/8" then trimmed around the edges to bring them to standard poker size.)

Just a quick note: "In Bleakest Midwinter" is now up on RPGNow/DriveThruRPG (link). I can't get the full-size preview to load properly, for some reason. That's part of what this process is about, though...learning how this self-publishing thing works...

Sunday, January 8, 2017

I am definitely thankful to this Mitsubishi dealership in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, for sharing these outtakes with the world. Is there anything funnier than a mascot falling down? (Rhetorical question, but...the answer is no.)

Saturday, January 7, 2017

This is just to note that I've put my silly little holiday funnel-type adventure thing, "In Bleakest Midwinter," up on Lulu (link). I also have it in review for placement on RPGNow/DriveThruRPG. Free on both, of course, and still available straight from Google Drive here.

While it's a very (and did I mention, very?) amateur product, I figure it can't hurt visibility to put it places where people actually go looking for stuff like that. It's cool to finally learn a bit about the self-publishing process, too.

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

I kind of feel like I should have something a little more weighty for my first post of 2017...but I suppose this'll do. After missing #MonsterMonday yesterday (due to one final surge of holidays), I now present the last of the Eeveelutions (so far), translated to generic OSR terms. Here is the Generation VI monster known as Sylveon...

(As always, I get these icons from the awesome site Game-icons.net, which has tons of amazing bits of art to use in games, completely free of charge! The "cards" I post here are proportioned such that they can be printed out at 2.75"x3.75", with 1/8" then trimmed around the edges to bring them to standard poker size...and I've now added dotted lines for the trim...)

Sylveon is a little more...I dunno, abstract(?) in the elemental sense...than previous Underground Elemental Beasts, since its Pokémon type is Fairy. That's not really an element. It's not even a quasi-element like Mind or something. But with an attack called Fairy Wind, Air seems like a reasonable element, doesn't it? So...that's what that icon up there is supposed to represent...the element of Air...weak to Air and resistant to Lightning.

Yep.

One more note on Underground Elemental Beastfighting...I'm starting to play around with incorporating these into an RPG campaign and/or competitive game unto itself, so I also started playing around with cardbacks. Here's one of my first go's at it...